Decades Prior To Crediting Michael Jordan For His ’53¢ On $1′ Contribution, Isiah Thomas ‘Uncharacteristically’ Claimed MJ Was The Best He’d Ever Seen

One of the biggest rivalries in the late 80s was between the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. Spearheaded by their superstars, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan, they had plenty of heated matchups. Thanks to that, things have been tense between them. That being said, Zeke has a lot of respect for His Airness. Over the years, he has gone on record several times and spoken about MJ’s greatness. Even back in their playing days, just two years before their eventual fallout in 1991, IT gave Jordan the ultimate compliment on the Arsenio Hall Show.

Decades after they had retired, IT appeared on Open Court, where he credited MJ for revolutionizing the NBA. He spoke about how Jordan brought money to the game. And, thanks to his marketability it allowed other players to earn more, seeing as they got 53% of the gross. Or, to be more specific, they made 53¢ on every dollar the league made.

Isiah Thomas once uncharacteristically claimed Michael Jordan was the best he had ever seen

Appearing on the Arsenio Hall show back in 1990, Michael Jordan spoke a lot about his game. Here, he was treated to a special clip from a year before featuring Isiah Thomas. In the clip, IT had high praise for MJ’s style of play. Crediting him for his quickness, strength, hops, touch, and IQ, Zeke claimed Jordan was the best player he had ever seen.

High praise, to say the least. And, for the most part, he wasn’t wrong. Jordan was an incredible player throughout his career. His exceptional scoring ability aside, His Airness was a dog on defense. He even has six NBA Championships, five MVPs, and a Defensive Player of the Year award to show for it.

There can be no denying his greatness. However, two years after giving the interview, the relationship between Thomas and Jordan went sour. In the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons who had a competitive rivalry with the Bulls committed the ultimate sacrilege when they refused to shake their opponents’ hands after losing the series. It was a slap in the face to Jordan and his teammates, who always showed sportsmanship despite losing three years in a row to Detroit from 1988 to 1990.

“His quickness, his strength, his jumping ability, his touch, and also his knowledge and understanding for the game. He by far is the best I’ve ever seen. And, Earving (Magic Johnson) is my boy! But…you know…Air! He real sweet! I mean the dude…you see what he be doing?”

Since then, things have never been the same between IT and MJ. In addition to reportedly having Thomas snubbed from the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, Jordan has used all kinds of unsavory words to describe Thomas. Something that the latter isn’t happy about in the slightest.

Thomas wants a public apology from Jordan for calling him an a**hole

In 2020, Netflix, in collaboration with ESPN came out with The Last Dance documentary. It covered the dominance of the Chicago Bulls and the dynasty Michael Jordan helped create in the 1990s. One of the topics covered in the doc surrounded the infamous rivalry between the Bulls and the Detroit Pistons.

When discussing the same, Jordan, on more than one occasion blasted his opponent, Isiah Thomas. He even went so far as to call him an a**hole. This did not sit well with IT, who was clearly hurt. And now, the two-time NBA Champion is demanding a public apology.

“You get on national television and you call me an a**hole and then you said you hated me. You said that on national television. Now, if you didn’t mean it…get on national television and apologize for it!”

At this point, it would seem as though the relationship between His Airness and Zeke is fractured beyond repair. The two clearly have lost a lot of respect for each other, and it will take a lot of time and commitment for them to regain that respect.